Nicholls unhappy as he is denied penalty chance against Cobblers

Jefferson Lake

Alex Nicholls felt he should have won a penalty for new club Exeter City against the Cobblers - and would have asked regular spot-kick taker Graham Cummins if he could have taken it.

Nicholls came on as a second-half substitute for the Grecians just four days after his contract expired at Sixfields and he penned an 18-month deal at St James’ Park.

He admitted he should have done better with a headed effort moments after joining the game but felt referee Kevin Johnson should have given a penalty for what he felt was a foul on him by Lee Collins later in the game.

“I couldn’t quite get the power on it that I wanted to,” he said. “I think if it had come over a foot lower I’d have been able to get more on it and would have scored it.

“I definitely should have had a penalty. I definitely got clipped and the referee said the ball was running away from me but I didn’t think it was.

“I thought I was getting on the end of it and was going to have a shot but it didn’t go our way and it was one of those days.

“Graham (Cummins) is our penalty taker here so I wouldn’t have been on it but I would have put the question to him.”

Nicholls would have been keen to have taken the penalty but would not have celebrated if he had scored it, or the headed chance which came his way, out of respect to his former club.

“I wouldn’t have celebrated,” he said. “The club means a lot to me and the fans do too and it would have been disrespectful to have run off celebrating.

“I’d have been happy to score but I wouldn’t have rubbed it in the fans’ faces.

“They were brilliant to me in my time at Northampton and they were brilliant when I came on on Saturday as well, so I thank them for that.”